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Weird Owl
Weird Owl are a psychedelic rock band residing in Brooklyn, New York. Drawing influences from the likes of Hawkwind, Neil Young, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Spirit, Weird Owl have also been categorized as stoner rock and space rock.AV ClubRock Edition Since their formation in 2004 Weird Owl have released seven studio albums of varying lengths, two of which released by Tee Pee Records when the label signed them in early 2008. Notably the band has toured on occasion but largely stays active in the New York area. History Weird Owl was formed in 2004 by Trevor Tyrrell (guitar, vocals), John Cassidy (bass), Sean Reynolds (drums) and Josh Weber (keyboards).It's Psychedelic Baby! Among performing local gigs and releasing demos the band would self-release their debut album Nuclear Psychology in 2007. Notably one Matthew J. Tow (The Lovetones) caught ear of Weird Owl and recommended them to Tee Pee Records, who signed them in 2008. After self-releasing several cds, including the 2007 full-length Nuclear Psychology, Weird Owl caught the ears of Matthew J. Tow of the Australian band The Lovetones, who helped get them signed to Tee Pee Records in 2008. Josh Weber would leave the group with guitarist Jon Rudd and bassist Kenneth Cook (The Damn Personals) joining n his place. The band's second LP (And debut for Tee Pee) in Ever The Silver Cord Be Loosed, would be released in 2009. All Music stated the record was "melodic, pleasant, head numbing, and sticks with the listener in terms of its relaxed approach and its utterly well-executed weightiness", giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars. In the summer of 2009, Weird Owl embarked on a West Coast tour with label-mates Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, surrounding an appearance at the New Weird America Showcase. Also of note in 2009 is the band also participated in a fundraiser for Arthur Magazine and closed the year as a part of the Tee Pee Records CMJ Showcase.Last.fm Following sporadic gigs in 2011, Weird Owl would play Austin Psych Fest in 2011, curated by The Black Angels. That July also saw release of their third album Build Your Beast a Fire, recorded by Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) and Justin Rice (Bishop Allen). Giving the album a B+, The Onion A.V. Club said its songs "are emotionally engaging and frequently moving; they’re also catchy earworms with great choruses". Following the departure of Rudd and Cook, the band went into the studio for the first time with new member J. David Nugent (synthesizers), with Cassidy also picking up synth duties in addition to bass. Demos from this session, recorded and produced by Jeffrey Berner (Psychic TV), were posted online and caught the attention of Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), who asked the band if he could put out an EP of their music on his personal label, A Recordings, Ltd. In October of 2013 the band's next album (Also cited as a mini-album) Healing was released as a double 10-inch on day-glo vinyl, and according to All Music, its "trippy miasmas are more soothing than stunning...it reveals them as a more interesting and versatile band", giving it 3.5 of 5 stars. Weird Owl would tour Europe for the first time in June 2014, including an appearance at Eindhoven Psych Fest and a gig supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Working with Berner again for the next album, Interstellar Skeletal would see release in May 2015 via A Recordings, followed by a tour of Europe supporting the album, including a date at The Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia and the Incubate Festival in Tilburg, NL.. All Music gave the album 3.5 out 5 stars, saying “It's a solid release with the quality musicianship and experimental nature fans have come to expect of Weird Owl”. If 2016, the band returned to the studio with Berner to begin working on a new LP. Completed in the spring of 2017, the album, Bubblegum Brainwaves, features an appearance by the legendary Genesis Breyer P'Orridge of Psychic TV, and is due to be self-released by the band on 13 October 2017. The album marks the band's sixth release in a decade. A seventh album in Wet Telepathy followed on 20 September 2019 via Little Cloud Records. Taking off from the psychedelic yet concise songwriting established on 2017’s Bubblegum Brainwaves, this new album showcases the unpredictable and idiosyncratic nature of the band’s musical output. Songs about phantoms, psychic demons, bad trips and time travel all find a home in the off-kilter and slightly wobbly sci-fi universe created by Weird Owl. Wet Telepathy marks the fourth consecutive record on which the band has partnered with Jeffrey Berner in the role of engineer, mixer and producer. The band held a release show for Wet Telepathy on 5 October 2019 at Berlin Under A (With The Veldt, Cate Von Csoke and Heavy Birds).Weird Owl Official Discography Studio Albums *'Nuclear Psychology' (2007, Self-Released) *'Ever The Silver Cord Be Loosed' (2009, Tee Pee Records) *'Healing' (2010, A Recordings LTD.) *'Build Your Beast A Fire' (2011, Tee Pee Records) *'Interstellar Skeletal' (2015, A Records) *'Bubblegum Brainwaves' (2017, Whistling Dwarf Music) *'Wet Telepathy' (2019, Little Cloud) Members Current Lineup *'Trevor Tyrrell' - Guitar, Vocals (2004 - Present) *'John Cassidy' - Bass, Synthesizer (2004 - Present) *'Sean Reynolds' - Drums (2004 - Present) *'J. David Nugent' - Synthesizer (2012 - Present) Former Members *'Josh Weber' - Keyboards (2004 - 2008) *'Jon Rudd' - Guitar (2008 - 2012) *'Kenneth Cook' - Bass (2008 - 2012) List of Known Tours *'2009 West Coast Tour' (With Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound) (2009)Last.fm *'2014 European Tour' (2014)Last.fmWeird Owl Facebook *'2015 European Tour' (2015)Last.fmWeird Owl Facebook External Links *Tee Pee Records page on the band. *Weird Owl Interview *[Weird Owl MySpace *Weird Owl Facebook *Weird Owl Twitter *Weird Owl Bandcamp References Category:Band Category:Brooklyn Category:New York Category:USA Category:Psychedelic Rock Category:Stoner Rock Category:Fuzz